Breeders' Cup: Davis getting an opportunity with pair of contenders
?q=100)
Dylan Davis followed his sensational summer with a fabulous fall and now finds himself at the Breeders’ Cup for the third time in his career with what he feels are two strong contenders on Friday’s card at Del Mar.
Davis, 29, will ride Quickick for trainer Tom Amoss in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies and Abientot for Mark Casse in the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf. They will be the third and fourth career Breeders’ Cup mounts for Davis who finished ninth aboard Carson’s Run in last year’s Juvenile Turf and 12th aboard Second of July in the 2020 Juvenile Turf Sprint.
In Quickick, Davis rides a filly who won her maiden in her second start at Saratoga, beating the fillies who would run one-two in the Grade 1 Frizette at Aqueduct – Scottish Lassie and Snowyte. Davis was aboard Quickick for all of her races, including the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland where she finished second behind Immersive, who is likely to go off favored in Friday’s Juvenile Fillies.
“She was laboring on that left lead down the stretch,” Davis said. “I thought she could have beat that horse with a little more experience and focus.”
Amoss said he’s always felt Davis “was a top rider with limited opportunity against the best jockey colony in the world. His opportunities have increased, and he’s showing the racing world how good he is. We are lucky to have him for Quickick.”
In Abientot, Davis rides a filly with whom he has already won twice from five starts for longtime supporter Casse. Abientot came with a strong stretch rally to get up in the final jump to win the Grade 3 Matron going six furlongs. Casse elected for the Juvenile Fillies Turf at one mile rather than cut Abientot back to five furlongs in the Juvenile Turf Sprint.
“She ran great in the sprint, but I don’t see any questions about the mile as well,” Davis said. “She can relax; if she shows that turn of foot that she showed in the sprint, she’ll be very tough too. I’m excited for her.”
A Breeders’ Cup victory would be the topper to what has already been a magnificent year for Davis, the son of jockey Robbie Davis. At Saratoga, Davis tied for third in the standings with 36 wins and was second with eight stakes victories, both personal bests at that meet.
Davis carried that success to the Belmont at Big A fall meet, where, entering the final four days of the season, he has a meet-leading 41 victories, 13 more than Kendrick Carmouche.
One byproduct of Davis’s Saratoga success is that he has now found a spot in the barn of leading trainer Chad Brown. So far at the fall meet, Davis has won seven races from 15 mounts for Brown, including the Grade 3 Knickerbocker with Andthewinneris. He also was aboard juvenile maiden winners Keewaydin and Fully Subscribed, who are headed to the Grade 2 Remsen and Grade 2 Demoiselle, respectively, on Dec. 7.
“He told me he wanted to find me two babies to move forward with me and he wants me to be successful,” Davis said. “I’m very fortunate and honored that Chad is willing to take me in. I’m still learning how to ride for the outfit and improving myself as a rider.”
While Davis has won a lot of races recently for Brown, the trainer pointed to his ride on Pretty Ana, who was third, beaten just a neck, in last Saturday’s Grade 2 Mother Goose, as an example of Davis’s development.
“The winner, Tarifa, wiped our horse out at the gate and he didn’t panic,” Brown said. “He got her to re-rally and one more jump she wins. That captures a lot about this jockey about where he’s come to now. Let me tell ya, there’s a few jockeys that would have wrapped up and not persevered with her or put forth the effort and thought of how can I get this filly back into the game without rushing her. He rode that filly like he’s been riding for 20 years. He’s very deserving of his success.”
While Davis is getting more opportunities, he will not be riding the Saturday card at the Breeders’ Cup. Though he had ridden Classic hopeful Tapit Trice to victory in the Grade 2 Woodward Stakes, Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride that horse in the Classic.
“I never had a shot to ride the Classic before but now my name was in the hat to ride the Classic, which is new for me,” said Davis, who will ride the card at Aqueduct on Saturday. “No hard feelings. Always moving forward.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.